Temper the Heart
by slyfoxxy
Summary: A young woman thrust into life as a Grey Warden must work to bring together to races of Fereleden, But how much can a girl take?
1. Chapter 1

"Let's cross the bridge and get to the Tower of Ishal!"

The Grey Warden Alistair seemed eager to proceed with our task.

"_Maker preserve us," _I muttered under my breath, this was _not_ how I imagined I would be spending the summer.

"Temperance?"

He was looking at me expectantly, as though waiting to follow my lead. I should my head, he was the senior Warden here, he probably just thought I was off in the Fade. I looked across the bridge, the rain hammered down and made chiming sounds off our armour. We could see the Darkspawn horde approaching.

Just as I took a step onto the bridge a large fiery boulder catapaulted into the wall, causing the structure to shake. Alistair grabbed my arm as I fell and pulled me along roughly, running as fast as he could to the other side. My heart was in my mouth the whole time and I half expected to be hit by flaming debris or knocked off the bridge into the void below.

It was the longest minute of my life.

Breathing heavily we made it to the other side just as another projectile crashed into the bridge right behind us. My faithful Mabari hound Dax seemed unfazed by the drama and stood waiting for me not ten feet away. I could hear the screaming of soldiers behind us as the sound of fighting from below.

"Come," said Alistair, "We don't have much time."

Just as we approached the ramp that lead to the Tower two men came rushing down it, the armoured guard approached us, visibly out of breath.

"You...you're Grey Warden's aren't you? The Tower..it's been taken!"

"Taken?" my companion seemed incredulous, "What are you talking about man?"

"The darkspawn, they've infiltrated the Tower, they're everywhere?"

Alistair clenched his jaw, "Then we are just going to have to take it back."

I looked at him surprised, his personality had totally changed from the man I had met not a day ago. The easy going, jokey man had been replaced by a battle hardened warrior.

I was impressed.

Nothing could have prepared me for what was to come next. The Darkspawn were the ugliest, dirtiest, smelliest creatures I had ever seen in my life. They were covered in grime and blood and when they roared the smell of their breath nearly knocked me out cold. I remember Alistair saying he had seen the creatures before but had never actually killed one personally, he certainly seemed to be making up for that now. Don't get me wrong, I am not a squeamish person by any means and had had my fair share of fights in the past, but I had never fought anything so ferociously hellbent on crushing me to a pulp.

I admit it, I was scared. We had fought the dark spawn in the Kocari Wilds just hours ago, but they were stragglers, nothing near the scale that faced us now. It seemed they would overwhelm us. I tried not to show my fear, Alistair had the most determined look on his face and I did not want him to think me weak, I was now a Grey Warden after all.

Without warning my weapon began to glow in my hand, then the blade burst into flames. In my shock I nearly dropped the sword but to my surprise it did not feel hot to the touch. I looked up to see a blood splattered mage waving us towards the Tower door.

"Thought you could use a little help, that'll sting like nothing they've ever felt before."

He held open the doors as Dax, Alistair and I entered and sealed them shut behind us.

Of course the Darkspawn were in the Tower as well. We fought our way to the third floor before I had to take a small break, my energy was starting to wane and the events of the past week had drained me insurmountably.

"Maker's breath!" Alistair exclaimed as we barred the door behind us, "What are all these Darkspawn doing ahead of the rest of the horde? There wasn't supposed to be any resistance here."

"You could always try telling them they are in the wrong place," I offered.

How ironic that not two hours before he had been complaining that he would not get to see any fighting.

"Right...Because clearly this is all just a misunderstanding."

"_Ah there he is,"_ I exclaimed to myself as he replied sarcastically.

"At any rate," he continued, "We need to hurry, We need to get up to the top of the Tower and light the signal fire in time. Teyrn Loghain is waiting for the signal."

I looked ahead and the staircase seemed to twist on forever, I could not suppress my groan.

When we finally reached the top room of the Tower I nearly collapsed, lugging a tonne of heavy armour on your back plus shield and sword up ten flights of stairs is no easy task.

"Take a moment to rest," smiled Alistair, patting me on the back, "I just hope Teyrn Loghain is ready to charge, the King is counting on us."

It only took me a moment to recover and it made me thankful for my warrior training. Remembering home though felt like a punch in the stomach and right at that moment I needed to focus. I stood and rushed into the room, trying to leave my pain behind me....

It worked, but only because in front of me stood a monster I had never encountered before, I was dumbfounded.

"Ogre!" cried the mage who had accompanied us.

The creature roared and literally knocked me off my feet, I was so surprised I nearly didn't move in time to avoid being crushed by a giant fist. As I turned the floor where I had fallen was collapsed in from the strength of the blow.

"Temperance! Pay attention!"

These words drew me from my stupor and I was able to regain my thoughts.

Dax danced around the Ogre, biting at its ankles and keeping it distracted. It roared in frustration as it tried to catch my nimble warhound and crush it with a mighty fist. The mage sent lighting and fire at it and only when it's back was turned did Alistair or myself dare approach it. Without warning my companion clambered up onto the Ogre's back, digging a small blade into the side of its neck. As it cried out in pain and reached for him he pulled it across the creatures throat, opening up its jugular and pouring pints of dark crimson blood onto the floor. The creature collapsed with a gasp and Alistair sat breathing heavily on its back.

"Well what are you waiting for?" he asked me, "Light the signal."

"Right," I nodded and took a sconce from the wall, lighting the dry kindling in the fire. It burst into flame so suddenly I had to step back for fear of being burnt.

"It is done, Now all we can do is wait."

I walked to one of the windows and looked down, I could not see much but the sound of the fighting reached us. Banging began on the door that we had barred, I turned and drew my sword as the horde burst forth but felt tremendous stabs of pain as arrows pierced my body. I drew in a gasp of breath as splotches of light clouded my vision. Dax stood over me, ripping and tearing at the darkspawn. I tried to move but the pain was unbearable.

"_Father, I'm sorry..."_

The blackness overwhelmed me, and then I felt no pain.


	2. Chapter 2

Something was wrong, Instead of cold hard stone beneath me I felt the softness of a bed and the warmth of a fire. I sat bolt upright and regretted it almost immediately, my head began to spin and I groaned in discomfort. A soft chuckle made me look up.

"Ah your eyes finally open. Mother shall be pleased."

I knew this woman, she was an _apostate_, a Witch of the Wilds. She and her mother had helped us with our Joining quest.

_Morrigan._

"What happened to the Darkspawn?" I asked, my throat was dry and my voice raspier then I would have liked. She handed me a cup of what I thought was water but it tasted sweet, and smelt like lavender.

"You were injured and then Mother rescued you. Do you not remember?"

I tied my long blond hair back into its customary bun as I tried to think.

"I remember being overwhelmed by Darkspawn..."

I rubbed my shoulder and chest where the arrows had pierced me but there was no pain, and no scars that I could see.

"Mother managed to save you and your friend, though 'twas a close call. What is important is that you both live."

"_Alistair is ok then,"_ I thought to myself, feeling momentarily guilty that I had forgotten all about him.

"The man who was to respond to your signal quit the field. The Darkspawn won your battle."

"_What!"_

Why would Teyrn Loghain pull out? Wasn't it his idea to light the beacon in the first place?

"Those he abandoned were massacred. Your friend...he is not taking it well."

My mind was abuzz, I couldn't believe what I was being told! Everything had been turned upside down.

"What of the Grey Wardens? And the King?"

But in my heart I knew the answer before she spoke it.

"All dead."

The witch seemed so casual about everything, as though they were talking about the losers in a game of chess.

"Your friend has veered between denial and grief since mother told him. He is outside by the fire, Mother asked to see you when you awoke."

I rubbed my shoulder once again, there was no pain but I could feel a tightness that needed to be stretched out. I was in shock, my mind kept veering towards the mundane.

"Were my injuries severe?"

"Yes," she replied casually, as though I had only been hit by a stick, "But I expect you shall be fine. The Darkspawn did nothing Mother could not heal."

I did not want to leave the hut and face my fellow Grey Warden. I didn't know how he would react as I had not known him long, though by what Morrigan had said, he wasn't doing so well.

"Is...Alistair alright?"

The woman smirked, "He is...as you are. I suppose it would be unkind to say he is being childish."

"Well those people were his friends, I suspect he is reacting how any normal person should."

She just snorted and turned towards the fire.

"Thank you for helping me Morrigan."

"I..."

She seemed startled by my thanks, "You are welcome, though Mother did most of the work. I am no healer."

I nodded and stood, my legs were a bit shaky but I seemed to have most of my strength. I figured I had not been unconscious that long but my wounds were healed as though I had been sleeping for days.

"_Maker be praised,"_ I muttered under my breath, these were witches after all, who knew what they were capable of?

As I exited the hut I heard Morrigan's mother reassuring Alistair, the look of relief on his face took me aback.

"You...you're alive! I thought you were dead for sure."

I was uncomfortable with his reaction, I did not know him very well and he was acting as though we had been friends forever.

"It takes more then a few Darkspawn to kill me,"

He did not seem to notice my discomfort and I realised it was all my doing, he was genuinely happy to see me alive and that gave me a warm little glow in my chest.

For about ten seconds.

"Duncan's dead."

The pain in his voice was so raw that I wanted to rush over and give him a hug but I restrained myself.

"The Grey Warden's, even the king...They're all dead..."

He looked up at me, I could not tell if he had been crying but I could see that he wanted to.

"This doesn't seem real! If it weren't for Morrigan's mother...we'd be dead on top of that Tower!"

"Do not talk about me as if I am not present lad."

The old woman stepped forward, she was small and stooped with age but I could feel the power practically oozing from her pores. I did _not _want to know how she had rescued us.

"I didn't mean...but what do we call you?"

"Names are pretty but useless," sighed the old woman, "The Chasind folk called me Flemeth, I suppose that will do."

"I guess we should thank you," I said stepping forward, "But why_ did_ you save us?"

She smiled, "Well, we cannot have all the Grey Wardens dying at once can we? Someone has to deal with these Darkspawn."

I looked at her incredulously, did anyone seriously think I wanted to be a Grey Warden now? I still needed to find my brother and tell him what had happened at Highever, nevermind the fact the the next time I saw Arl Howe he was a dead man. As though she had read my thoughts her gaze settled on me, her eyes were surprisingly keen and aware for someone who looked as old as she did.

"It has always been the Grey Wardens' duty to unite the lands against the Blight. Or did that change when I wasn't looking?"

"The lands are hardly united," I replied, "Thanks to Loghain."

Alistair shook his head furiously, "That doesn't make sense! Why would he do it?"

"Now _that_ is a good question," said the old woman, "Men's hearts hold shadows darker then any tainted creature."

I stopped listening after a while as they made plans and discussed what should be done.

"What about the treaties?" I asked, remembering the bits of paper we had gone into the Wilds to retrieve as part of the Joining.

"Of course! The treaties!" My companion seemed excited by the thought, "Grey Wardens can demand aid from dwarves, elves, mages and other places! They're obligated to help us during the Blight!"

Flemeth smiled knowingly, as though waiting for us to touch upon the subject.

"I may be old, but dwarves, elves, mages, this Arl Eamon and who knows what else...this sounds like an army to me."

Alistair looked at me, a spark of determination in his eyes.

"Before you go, there is yet one more thing I can offer you."

Flemeth turned as Morrigan emerged from the hut.

"The stew is bubbling Mother dear, Shall we have two guests for the eve or none?"

"The Grey Wardens are leaving shortly girl. And you will be joining them."

"Such a shame-What?"

Clearly the witch had not been expecting this, she looked at Flemeth as though she had grown a second head.

"Have I no say in this?"

The old woman scoffed, "You have been itching to get out of the Wilds for years, here is your chance."

"Not to...look a gift horse in the mouth..." Alistair began tentatively, "But won't this add to our problems? Out of the Wilds, she's an apostate."

"If you do not wish help from us illegal mages young man, perhaps I should have left you on that Tower."

He lowered his head, "Point taken."

As Morrigan retrieved her belongings I thought about what was happening. I could not leave Alistair, no matter how much I wanted to go off and find my brother he needed me, the world needed me. I felt suddenly lethargic, we were the last two Grey Wardens in Ferelden, any others were at least a thousand miles away. How could one girl, an insecure young man and a witch unite all of Ferelden against the biggest threat in five hundred years?

"_Well,"_ I thought to myself, _"This is going to be fun..."_


	3. Chapter 3

_My father sat at his desk, he was frowning at me but the slightest twitch of his face told me I was not really in trouble. Dax sat at my side, still a rotund little pup, his attempt at being macho was quite comical._

"_Pup, you do realise that you nearly gave Nan a heart attack, your hound needs to stop hiding in the cupboards."_

"_I understand father."_

_My voice was high and child like, not yet having reached maturity._

_I hated it._

_I was being trained as a warrior, yet no one would take me seriously, no one that is except my father. My mother had been a fierce warrior in her hey day but she did not want that for me. She wanted me to be a little girl, to dress me up in nice little dresses and have me play with dolls. So when my father presented Dax for my eleventh birthday she was not happy._

_He stood and walked over to the hound, gently rubbing him behind the ears._

"_Of course, all work and no play makes Dax a dull boy."_

_He chuckled and ruffled my short blond hair, I had insisted it be cut during my training to avoid those despicable boys trying to pull it. I puffed out my chest and tried to look dignified and important._

"_Dax will be the best Mabari House Cousland has ever seen father, just you wait."_

_He had the most curious look on his face, but my young mind didn't know what it meant._

"_Yes, well my pup, you do that. Now run along and be sure to stay out of trouble please."_

_I nodded and laughed before turning away, but something made me stop._

_The room had changed._

_Instead of the familiar walls of my father's office a great cave stretched out before me, I was standing on the tiniest of ledges and far below the lights of thousands of fires twinkled. The smell was horrible, death and decay filled my pores._

_Dear god where _am _I?_

_It was then that I saw it, a creature of myth not seen by man in an age. It enormity terrified me, the dark pink scales glistened in the light of the many flames and the green eyes glowed like faery lights._

_A dragon._

_It turned its head and looked directly at me, holding my gaze for what seemed like an age, it knew I was there. Without warning it let out a fierce roar, I covered my ears but was still deafened by the impact. It spread out its mighty wings and leapt from its platform._

_It flew directly at me._

I woke up so forcefully that my neck hurt from the pain of the jerk.

"Bad dreams huh?"

Alistair's voice cut through my confusion and I remembered where I was. We were in camp just outside of Lothering. It had taken us a few days to decide what we were going to do and how we were going to use the treaties, in the mean time we had picked up two new companions.

An angry, brooding Qunari of very few words and a fiery, young priestess of way too many.

"It seemed so real," I muttered, rubbing my neck as I tried to get the crick out.

"Well it is real. Sort of."

My companion sat by the fire, throwing in random bits of debris, his face was quite serious, which was rare for him.

"You see, part of being a Grey Warden is being able to hear the Darkspawn. That's what your dream was, hearing them."

I remembered the millions of lights below me in the chasm and shivered, glad they could not return the favour.

"The archdemon, it..._talks_ to the horde, and we feel it just as they do. That's how we know this is a real Blight."

"Are these dreams going to happen a lot?" I asked, rubbing my eyes as I felt the beginnings of a migraine.

"It takes a bit, but eventually you can block the dreams out. Some of the older Grey Wardens say they can understand the archdemon a bit," He snorted at this, "I sure can't."

I remembered the glowing green eyes of the archdemon, the light had left dots behind my eyelids.

"Anyhow," he continued, oblivious to my pondering, "When I heard you thrashing around, I thought I should tell you. It was scary at first for me too."

"Any other surprises I should know about?"

He grinned at me, back to his old annoying self.

"Other then dying young and the whole defeat-the-Blight-alone thing? No, I'm all tapped out for surprises."

I groaned and lay back on my pack, couldn't he take _anything_ seriously?

I grinned wryly, he reminded me of my brother Fergus in that respect.

_Fergus..._

I felt the familiar pang of dread and helplessness when I thought of my brother, I still needed to deliver the news of what had happened in Highever.

If he was even alive.

"Anyhow, you're up now right? We should pull up camp and move on."

That was fine by me, I would not be getting any more sleep tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

"People are not simple," Chided Sten.

The giant Qunari seemed to be getting increasingly irritated by Lelianna's attempts to make him talk about himself.

"They cannot be summarised for easy reference in the manner of: _The elves are a lithe, pointy eared people who excel at poverty._"

I shook my head, the Orlesian priestess was very insistent and very patient but also deadly with a blade, I wondered how a battle between them would turn out if Sten cracked.

"Look, can we talk for a moment?"

I turned to find Alistair rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly and immediately I was suspicious.

"I need to tell you something I, ah, probably should have told you earlier."

"_oh no what is it?" _I groaned inwardly, _"Is he going to leave? Wait, maybe it's something to do with Loghain..."_

"I'm not going to like this am I?" I winced as a thousand possibilities ran through my brain.

None of them prepared me for the truth.

"I don't know, I doubt it. I've never liked it, that's for sure."

He shrugged and hesitated, it might have been cute had I not wanted to strangle the words out of him, his awkwardness was _not_ always endearing.

"I told you before how Arl Eamon raised me right? That my mother was a serving girl at the castle and that he took me in?"

I nodded, recalling a brief conversation we had begun when I first met him, he did not seem to like talking about his past much. I guessed that now we were heading for Redcliffe in search of the Arl's help he needed to get some skeleton's out of the closet.

"The reason he did that was because...well-"

He seemed to be struggling to find the words, I nodded encouragingly, my impatience worn away by his obvious predicament.

"Well because my father was...King Maric. Which made Cailan my...half-brother I suppose."

I froze.

Alistair was King Maric's son.

King Cailan was dead.

Alistair was heir to the throne of Ferelden.

_Maker's Breath!_

He was looking at me expectantly, I had no idea what to say so I just blurted the first thing that came to my head.

"So...your not just a bastard but a...royal bastard?"

The words were out before I could stop them but he did not seem offended, in fact he looked visibly relieved that I was taking it so well.

I wasn't.

"Ha! I guess it does at that, I should use that line more often."

Suddenly he was embarrassed again and seemed to have difficulty looking at me.

"I would have told you...but it never really meant anything to me. I was inconvenient, a possible threat to Cailan's rule and so they kept me a secret. I've never talked about it to anyone."

By this time Sten and Lelianna had stopped talking, I had no idea where Morrigan was and Dax nudged my hand, whining softly.

"Everyone who knew either resented me for it or they coddled me... even Duncan kept me out of the fighting because of it. I didn't want you to know, as long as possible. I'm sorry."

I nodded blankly, trying to get my thoughts together.

What did this _mean?_ What were we supposed to do now? Alistair was heir to the throne and could therefore challenge Loghain's daughter Anora - Cailan's widow - for the crown. My heart skipped a beat.

"Does Loghain know?"

The man shrugged, looking uncomfortable.

"Why wouldn't he? He was King Maric's best friend. I don't know if that means anything though... I certainly never considered the idea that it might be important..."

"_Except for the fact that now he will _really_ want you dead," _I thought to myself.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

"You are heir to the throne," I said matter-of-factly, as if saying it aloud would somehow make it less weird.

It didn't.

"Let's hope not," He replied looking slightly bemused, "I'm the son of a commoner, and a Grey Warden to boot. It was made clear to me very early on that there was no room for me raising any rebellions or such nonsense, and that's fine by me. No, if there's an heir to be found, its Arl Eamon himself."

I watched him as he talked and I could tell the thought of ruling terrified him, he couldn't even bring himself to lead our little circus even though he was the senior Warden.

"Though...if he's really as sick as we've heard..."

He shook his head as if to get rid of the treacherous thought.

"No, I don't want to think about that, I really don't."

He looked at me as if suddenly remembering I was there.

"So there you have it. Now can we move on, and I'll pretend you still think I'm some... nobody who was too lucky to die with the rest of the Grey Wardens."

_Wow._

He was so eager to fit in, be part of the crowd, just disappear. He really did _not_ want to be King. I think that was the point I took my first _real_ look at Alistair, at the man behind the jokes and the awkwardness. I still wasn't sure if I liked him or not but I certainly didn't think he was a whiny goofball anymore. He was only pretending to be.

"So what does that make me?" I asked lightly, trying to get rid of the cloud of tension that surrounded us.

He grinned and punched my shoulder softly.

"Some nobody who was too lucky to die with the rest of the Grey Wardens. Welcome to the club."


	5. Chapter 5

I had a lot to think about on our way to Redcliffe. If Arl Eamon was really as sick as we'd heard then getting his help against Loghain and the blight might be near impossible, we might only be able to rely on the treaties...

As the thoughts swirled around in my head I heard running footsteps approaching. I looked up to see a relieved looking young man approaching us from the gate.

"I- I thought I saw travellers coming down the road, though I scarcely believed it, Have you come to help us?"

"What do you mean? Is there a problem?"

I was a bit confused, he seemed very jittery and panicky.

"So...you don't know? Has nobody out there heard?"

He seemed incredulous and my curiosity was piqued.

"We heard Arl Eamon was sick, if that's what you mean."

The young man's eyes widened and misted over a little which threw me.

"He could be _dead_ for all we know! Nobody has heard from the castle in days!"

He began to move of and motioned for us to follow, I looked at Alistair who replied with a shrug and a shake of the head, he was just as confused as I was.

"We've been under attack. Monsters come out of the castle every night and attack us until dawn. Everyone's been fighting... and dying."

"Apparently everyone seems to agree that the Blight is the perfect time to start killing each other. Marvelous, really." The sarcasm and contempt in her voice was plain to hear but everyone just ignored her.

"We've no army to defend us," continued the man, ""No Arl and no King to send us help. So many are dead, and those left are terrified they are next."

"Hold on," my Templar companion butted in raising his arms, "What is this evil that's attacking you?"

"I- I don't rightly know..." he hesitated, "Nobody does."

He began moving again, quickening his steps.

"I should take you to Bann Teagan. He's all that's holding us together, he'll want to see you."

"Bann Teagan?" repeated Alistair surprised, "Arl Eamon's brother? He's here?"

"Yes, it's not far. Follow me."

We followed the nervous little man through the small crowded village, not many people were about and those that were spoke in hushed tones and whispered as we passed. We were taken into the village's Chantry which seemed to hold many women and children. A man stood at the front of the building, he was discussing something with a soldier but looked up as we approached.

"Its...Tomas yes?" he asked addressing our guide, "And who are these people with you?They are obviously not simple travellers."

He regarded us with curiosity and something else, it seemed a mixture of relief and hope.

"No my lord," replied Tomas, bowing copiously, "They just arrived and I thought you would want to see them."

The man dismissed Tomas, sending him back to his post before turning back to us to introduce himself.

"Greetings friends, My name is Teagan, Bann of Rainesfere, brother to the Arl."

Alistair smiled slightly and cocked his head to the side.

"I remember you Bann Teagan, though the last time we met I was a lot younger... and covered in mud."

The image my mind conjured up was hilarious and not unlike the ex Templar, I could definitely imagine him covered in mud and-

I blushed, what was I _thinking?_ How had the thought of Alistair naked covered in mud come into my mind, I had to turn away to hide my burning cheeks but no one seemed to notice.

"Covered in mud...?" Realisation dawned on the Bann's face and he grabbed the Wardens arm for a handshake.

"Alistair? It is you isn't it? You're alive! This is wonderful news!"

"Still alive yes," he replied grinning, "Though not for long if Teyrn Loghain has anything to say about it."

"Indeed," The Bann was suddenly grim and looked very tired, "Loghain would have us believe al Grey Wardens died along with my nephew, amongst other things."

"Not all of us died," I added lamely, for some reason this man reminded me a lot of my father and I wanted to make him feel better.

He looked at me curiously, studying my features which made me feel slightly uncomfotable.

"So.. you are a Grey Warden as well? Is it possible we've met? You seem very familiar."

"You may have known my father, Teyrn Cousland?"

He nodded and smiled, "Ah yes, that's it exactly. It's a pleasure to meet you indeed, though I wish it were under better circumstances."

His smile turned back to a frown and he turned away to pour himself a glass of water. He seemed a lively, animated man, but the weight of what was happening in Redcliffe seemed to be earing him down.

"You are here to see my brother," It was a statement rather then a question bu his tone sounded defeated.

"Unfortunately that might be a problem, Eamon is gravely Ill."

He sighed and turned to look out the window, from our vantage point you could see the castle off in the distance, it looked tiny and lonely, and I had an overwhelming feeling of foreboding.

"No one has heard from the castle in days, no guards patrol the walls and no one has responded to my shouts... The attacks started a few nights ago. Evil... _things..._"

He seemed to visibly shudder when he said the word and his face contorted with disgust and fear.

"They surged from the castle.We drove them back but many perished from the assault."

Seeing the hopelessness and fear in the people around me my gut told me we had to help, especially if we wanted to see the Arl alive.

"Maybe we can help, we are quite adept at fighting and may also be able to gain access to the castle."

Morrigan sighed, she did not talk much but when she did it was always sarcasm and loathing.

"How pointless, to help villagers fight an impossible battle. One would think we had enough to contend with elsewhere."

She was looking right at me, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed, I shook my head and ignored her.

Teagan seemed overjoyed at the prospect of us helping out.

"Thank you, this means... more to me then you can guess."

Suddenly he was serious and a spark entered his eyes, it was as though our presence gave him hope and vigour. He laid out plans and discussed with us a few strategies.

"There is much to be done before nightfall, but I think we may have a chance. Luck be with you my friends."


	6. Chapter 6

No matter how long I sat looking in the mirror, I just did not recognise the person staring back at me. Not three weeks ago I was preparing to steward my family's estate as my father and brother went off to war.

All that changed in a heartbeat.

The girl in the mirror looked tired and drawn, her once vibrant green eyes seemed dulled by the dark circles and bags that surrounded them. The long, lustrous blond locks were in dire need of a wash and the pale skin was tanning and hardening from the weather.

In truth I did not look _bad_, just weather worn and maybe a bit older. My father would have called it good experience and wisdom. My throat hurt from holding back the tears, but now was not the time. I realised I had not had time to grieve since leaving Highever. I rubbed my eyes and splashed some cool water on my face, I was supposed to be resting before the battle. Everything was prepared, all we could do was wait.

I am _not_ a very patient person.

I sighed, I was restless and there was no way I was going to get any sleep so I decided to go for a walk. I left the Inn and walked towards a small hillock that I had spied when we entered the village, it overlooked the castle. As I approached I saw that someone else had already had the same idea.

Alistair.

I approached slowly, not wanting to disturb him, he seemed deep in thought. He looked up and smiled as I got closer.

"What do you need?" he asked lightly, turning back to look at the view.

I sat beside him silently for a while, the quiet was nice and comfortable.

"Do you... want to talk about Duncan?" I asked hesitantly.

I still did not know him very well and was not used to his sudden shifts in mood. He shook his head and smiled slightly, looking toward the setting sun.

"You don't have to do that. I know you didn't know him as long as I did."

"That doesn't mean I don't mourn his loss," I replied quietly.

It was true, even though I had known him only a week the older Grey Warden had really rubbed off on me. He had been there when my parents were murdered and had rescued me from a similar fate. I would always be grateful to him for everything he had done for me.

"I... should have handled it better," He sighed, he looked sad but determined, "Duncan warned me right from the beginning this could happen_. _Any of us could die in battle. I shouldn't have lost it when so much was riding on us, not with the Blight and...everything."

He smiled shyly and looked at me apologetically.

"I'm sorry."

I felt so bad for him, he seemed to have really cared for the old man and the loss was tearing him up. At any other time I would have thought he was being over the top, but in our circumstances and the way things were... maybe I had been a little harsh. Maybe it was because he was able to openly mourn... when I could not.

"There's no need to apologise Alistair... I understand."

"I'd like to have a proper funeral for him," he added, "Maybe once this is all done, if we are still alive. I don't think he had any family to speak of."

"He had you."

I wanted to reach out and embrace him, reassure him, but it would have been inappropriate, not to mention embarrassing.

"I suppose he did," the warden chuckled softly, "It probably sounds stupid, but part of me wishes I was with him. In the battle. I feel like I abandoned him."

"_Don't say that!" _I suddenly wanted to shout, _"Then _I'd_ be all alone... I can't do this without you Alistair." _

Instead I tried to comfort him.

"He saved your life by sending you to the tower."

"Yes. I know."

The guilt in his voice was apparent.

We sat silently for a while, I picked a few flowers and made a chain while he watched me.

"I think he came from Highever, or so he said, Maybe I'll go up there sometime, see about putting something up in his honour." He shook his head, "I don't know."

I nodded. I was the heir to Highever now, if I could ever get back there...

"Have you... had someone close to you die?" he was hesitant but I could hear the curiosity in his voice, "Not that I mean to pry, i'm just-"

"Well my entire family was murdered recently," I replied grimly cutting him off.

The faces of family and friends flashed before my eyes and I had to close them tightly as I began to feel sick, I opened them to find him staring at me with a horrified yet embarrassed look on his face.

"Oh of.. of course." He blushed and looked away, at anything but me.

"How stupid of me to forget. Here I am going on and on about Duncan and you... I'm sorry."

I stood and he followed suit, seeming awkward but steeling himself. He put a hand on my shoulder and smiled.

"Thank you. It was good to talk about this with a friend. It means a lot to me."

Suddenly he was lifting me into a hug and I made a noise of surprise.

Where had _this_ come from.

I patted him on the back awkwardly, feeling my cheeks burn.

"I'll go to Highever with you, when you go." I mumbled as he released me.

He grinned and nodded, "I'd like that. So would he, I think."

We stood there looking at each other uncomfortably for a few seconds before the sound of footsteps coming toward us made us turn. It was Tomas.

"Teagan is looking for you," he cried breathlessly, "Its almost time and everyone is getting ready."

Alistair's demeanour changed immediately.

"This is it, no turning back now."

He nodded acknowledgement and followed Tomas back down the hill.

I watched him for a minute before following along, he was so confusing.

"_If we live through this,"_ I promised myself, _"I need to find out who the _real _Alistair is."_


	7. Chapter 7

"The monsters are attacking from the lake! They're attacking the barricades! We need help!"

The call of the frightened militiaman carried over the gully, an eerie green mist covered the ground and felt wet to the touch. I prayed to the maker for strength as I saw the first of the creatures.

They were undead.

It shocked and frightened me, my father had told me tales of when he was a young man fighting alongside Arl Howe and they had come upon a village infested with them. Every man, woman and child had been struck down by some mysterious disease but had risen again in the search for human flesh. I had shuddered then, but as I grew older I had always thought he had just been telling me tales.

Until now.

The things still had human faces but their skin was turning horrible putrid colours, and the _smell!_ I had not thought I could ever smell anything worse then the Darkspawn but this came mighty close.

The roar of the creatures would make even the strongest man quail in his boots, how are you supposed to kill something that is already dead?

The mighty Qunari stepped forward and swung his giant axe, three of the undead lost their heads and turned to dust before their bodies hit the ground.

Well, I guess that answered that question.

Everyone seemed to grow in confidence upon discovering this, though their were many of the monsters to dispose of they were slow and shambling. I found it a tad frightening that Sten seemed to enjoy killing them so much, he seemed to be off in his own world and I dared not approach him for fear of losing my own head.

I heard shouting from the center of the village, I looked around to Lelianna and she nodded, following me towards more fighting. I was impressed by her accuracy and very glad she was on my side, every shot got one of the beasts in the eye.

We fought on into the night and as dawn approached the attacks dwindled away to nothing, as the villagers saw this they overcame their exhaustion and downed the remaining stragglers. A cheer went up from the crowd and a smiling Teagan approached us.

"Dawn arrives and we survived the night! We are victorious!"

I looked at my small group, everyone except Sten seemed the worse for wear, the foreigner looked as though he'd only been out for a morning stroll.

Jealous.

"I thank you dear lady. Truly, the Maker smiled on us when he sent you here in our darkest hour."

"Yes, you're welcome."

I knew I wasn't being very gracious but all I could think about was taking a long hot bath and a nap...then I remembered the situation with Arl Eamon.

I groaned inwardly.

"We've no time to waste, but I can see you need some rest. Meet me at the mill in half an hour, we can talk further there."

The half an hour barely gave me time to wash the sweat out of my armours crevices and grab a small meal before heading to the mill, I was sure I didn't look my best, but under the circumstances I didn't think the Arl would mind."

Sten was looking at me oddly and it made me curious.

"What is it?"

"I don't understand?" He replied puzzled, "You look like a woman..."

I stared at him dumbfounded for a few seconds before I replied.

"I _AM _a woman."

"You are a Grey Warden, so it follows that you cannot be a woman."

Seriously, I did not understand the Qunari.

"Why not?"

"Women are priests, artisans, shopkeepers or farmers. They don't fight."

"I am a woman, and I'm fighting."

He scoffed, "One of those things cannot be true."

I just shook my head, it was puzzling to him and that's just the way he was_, _I'd talk myself in circles trying to tell him otherwise. It wasn't worth it.

As we approached the mill a woman stood talking with Teagan, she was not from the village. I surmised by her guard that she had come from the castle and my curiosity peaked.

"You remember me Lady Isolde, don't you?" asked Alistair as we approached, a look of surprise and guilt flashed across her face before she settled on disdain.

\

"Alistair? Of all the...why are _you_ here?"

"They are Grey Wardens Isolde," cut in the Bann before he could reply, "I owe them my life."

"What is going on?" I asked, I did not like this woman, she reminded me of the snobby girls back home who thought they were entitled to everything. It was like pulling teeth trying to get information from her but finally she relented.

"So Arl Eamon is in some kind of magically induced torpor and Connor is acting strangley...Sounds a bit suspicious if you ask me."

"Well I _didn't_," she replied huffily. I couldn't believe it, she needed our help and she was treating us like peasants!

"I must take Teagan back to the castle and quickly, Connor will get...upset if I am gone for too long."

"Why don't we all go..."

"No!" Her initial reaction startled me and I saw terror before she quickly composed herself.

"No, Bann Teagan only."

"But-"

The Bann cut me off.

"The King is dead, and we need my brother now more then ever. I will return with you to the castle Isolde."

The woman seemed visibly relieved and on the verge of tears, I had to fight not to roll my eyes.

"Oh thank the Maker, Bless you Teagan!"

I grabbed his arm, forcing him to look at me.

"This is a mistake, you're going to get yourself killed!"

He cleared his throat and told Isolde to go on, then he made me a proposition. He would distract whatever was inside while my companions and I snuck in through a secret entrance.

"I can't let you do this. It's insane."

"I second that motion," added Alistair, his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

"What choice do we have?" he asked, handing me the key to the secret entrance, "I can delay no longer, be safe and...good luck."

I watched helplessly as he headed towards the castle, even in the light of day there seemed to be a cloud of foreboding and despair hanging over it.

"I guess that's our queue," I sighed as we headed in the opposite direction.


End file.
